11/15

I have a lot of mixed thoughts about testing and assessments. As a bilingual education major, I'm the first one to say that I don't agree with how much importance is given to standardized tests. I really disagree with the fact that a single test can determine one person's future. After learning so much about validity and reliability in ENG 346, I see so many more reasons why a standardized test isn't the best way to assess a student. Factors like how clear the instructions are, the person scoring the test, and the time of day or setting can all impact the outcome of the test taker.

With this in mind, it's clear why alternative assessments are much more beneficial. They are more low-stakes and allow the students to use their background knowledge and interests to produce their work. The teacher also has the opportunity to get multiple samples of their work, rather than using one instance to determine their skills. Assessments like portfolios are especially great because it gives the student a chance to see how much they have progressed, something a standardized test does not do. These assessments also allow the teacher to give immediate feedback to the students which can help them start improving on their weaker areas right away.

Although I am a huge supporter of alternative assessments, ESPECIALLY for English language learners, I think it's important to play "devil's advocate" or look at it from the opposite perspective. From the government's point of view, standardized tests are used to make sure there is some sort of structure in our education and to make sure our teachers are teaching what they are supposed to. Is there another way to maintain some sort of structure and "check up" with schools to make sure they are teaching meaningful lessons? Personally, I feel like standardized tests might be more useful if they were more low-stakes and there was more emphasis on areas of alternative assessment to determine what level the student is at. The way our educational system is currently structured is putting a lot of pressure on students and leaving less room for teachers to be creative in the classroom because of these high stakes test.

11/8

As it was stated in the closing paragraph of Chapter 11, I agree that teachers need to be very honest about the power that politics has on language. We need to explain to our students that the language and culture that they bring with them makes them unique, but in order to keep up with society they need to adjust to the "game" that's being played or they will have a very difficult time (pg 266).

The part of the chapter that captured my attention the most was the talk about the role of the first language. As a bilingual education major, I've learned so much about how resourceful the student's first language is, especially in a learning environment. In our education classes we've learned a million times how when a student can tap into their prior knowledge, or relate what they are learning to a personal experience, they will have an easier time understanding the new concept. This makes it shocking to me that the use of the first language in the classroom is always a debate. Clearly, if it is the only language being used in the classroom the students aren't going to make progress in their L2, but if it is used as a resource it can greatly enhance their understanding. I feel like this isn't always clear to the learners themselves either. A lot of the time they have their mind set on learning English as quickly as possible and never want to tap into their L1. As teachers we need to explain that their first language can provide them a lot of help with their second language. In our classroom it might be beneficial to do different activities that can link their home language to their second language. This way they can find some similarities or differences between the two and make helpful connections either within the grammar, communication styles, or speech acts. The use of the L1 in any ESL classroom is too great of a resource to ignore and if this is explained to the students and their parents they will understand how much it can really help.

11/3

Creating and fostering language awareness is especially important in an ESL classroom because there is most likely going to be several forms and variations of English being spoken in the classroom. As a teacher of ESL students I think that it's so important that we are sensitive and accepting of the variations that they bring into the classroom. This doesn't mean though, that they shouldn't be informed of formal and academic English. As a bilingual education major we always talk about how there is not only one correct way to speak English, but there are proper ways to speak in different settings. ESL students should be taught that the language they bring with them and the variation of English that they speak is accepted and valued, but in certain contexts they need to speak standard English to be appropriate. This is why I found critical language awareness to be important in the classroom. As ESL students, they are all going to come from different backgrounds, speak differently, and interpret things differently. This is why it is crucial for them to be able to analyze aspects of language critically. ESL teachers need to make it clear to their students that there isn't always one way to do something. This goes for any area of a language. There isn't simply one way to respond to an argument, ask a question, or write a phrase. I think to make this the least complicated as possible for them. they need to be taught to look at the context and surroundings of the situations. Are they speaking to someone in a more formal setting or one of their friends? Are they at church or on the playground? Could someone have interpreted the question differently than they did? All of these things come into play when learning a language. If the students aren't made aware that they need to look at language critically, then they will have a very difficult time learning the standard form of English and using it appropriately.

10/25

I have a lot of opinions about the way grammar should be taught, because personally, I wish I was taught differently. I was taught in a way where grammar instruction was explicit and we covered a new structure each week and then we took a test on it. It was simply memorization and teaching to the test. Learning this way made it EXTREMELY difficult when I was presented in real world situations. I struggle a lot in the area of fluency and communication with native speakers, but I can do the grammar perfectly.


Because of my personal experience, I feel very strongly about how grammar should be taught. When I read the quote in the book on page 149 "Learning grammar is a lot simpler than learning a language", I agreed completely. Grammar should not be the only area that a language learner practices, because they are still going to have a very difficult time communicating in the real world. I wish that my teachers would have presented our lessons with more task work. I do think that some explicit grammar instruction is necessary to have a basic understanding of the language, but after that is taught I think there should be a lot of focus on task work and grammar lessons can be incorporated into that. Obviously, some people are learning the language for different purposes so there might be cases of people that need more grammar instruction than others, but I still feel that including grammar lessons into more task focused instruction is the best way to go about teaching it. Learners will focus less on using every correct structure and more on getting the point across and communicating effectively with the native speakers.

10/20

In my opinion, learner autonomy is similar to learning how to ride a bike. It takes a lot of trial and error, but once it is accomplished, it becomes autonomous and you don't have to think about each part of the process anymore. The only downside to learner autonomy is that it does take a long time to accomplish, even in a first language. When I think about my own learning experience, I don't think I learned "how to learn" until I was in college. Even my freshman year I really struggled with my classes because I didn't know my preferred way to study or learn. The learner needs to be familiar with their own learning styles and strategies in order to move forward with this. In my case, I realized that simply reading the chapters didn't help me retain information at all. I needed to write things into my own words and make flash cards for myself to start understanding the information and applying it to my life. It also takes some effort from the teacher's side as well. Teachers can do their part by cherishing the learning strategies that the students bring to class as well as teaching them some new ones to try out. Once the teacher has done this, they need to step back and let the students try it on their own. "Spoon-feeding" the student every step of the way will not allow them to develop autonomy. Each student is going to have a different experience learning how to learn depending on the background that they have and the experiences that they bring with them, especially if they are in a new country with a new language. Once they begin to realize what works for them, this process should become natural.

10/11

I had a lot of strong opinions and personal connections after reading chapter 18 in section 9 of Anthology. To begin, I feel like there are a great amount of underlying factors that affect the success of ANY age language learner. I don't agree with the fact that adults will not become as proficient as children who start to learn it at a young age. I think it really depends on the circumstances. If an adult is simply learning the language for a required class, then it's a possibility that they might not become as proficient, but if their job depends on learning this new language they probably have the motivation to become very proficient. The affective factors are very influential in these situations as well. When I think about myself when learning Spanish as a second language, if I felt more comfortable practicing my Spanish with native speakers and making mistakes all the time I would probably be a lot more proficient that I am right now. My self-esteem and anxiety of making mistakes really limits me at times. This is something that teachers really need to take into consideration when designing the environment in their classroom. It should be a place where students feel comfortable messing up and speaking out, because this will only enhance their success at learning the language.

Along with this is the sociolinguistic competence. I have a lot of personal experiences with this as well after studying abroad in Spain over the summer. I believe that it's great for learners to be great at grammar and able to conjugate verbs and write out sentences correctly, but if if they cannot communicate correctly with the native speakers there is still going to be a huge barrier for them. For example, if they don't know how to appropriately make a complaint or compliment someone, they might not be able to get their point across. This also relates to other matters such as gestures, eye contact, etc. In some cultures if someone is yelling at you, it is disrespectful to look that person in the eye. In our culture, if someone is yelling at you, it is disrespectful not to make eye contact. Even though someone has learned the language, small interactions like this will still give the student a hard time adjusting to the culture. This is why a simple conversation class to learn about speech acts and communication strategies is probably a great resource for language learners to have. It will help them adjust to the day to day interactions that they have with people and truly make it easier for them.

10/6

Learning to write in a second language is definitely not easy and I can say that from experience. Because I have felt the difficulty and effort that it takes to learn how to write in another language, I think I can relate to my students more when it comes to assigning them writing tasks. When I have my own classroom with ESL students I am going to make my best effort to try and incorporate the student's interests into each writing task that is presented to them. This is the best way to get students excited about what they are learning in class. It works the same way for reading. When we want students to enjoy reading, we let them choose a book that they want to read, so why not do the same for writing? Giving the students the option to write about something that interests them will help get the creative ideas flowing and allow them to have some prior knowledge on the topic, meaning they might already know some of the vocabulary words. Along with that, I think ELL's should be given the opportunity to practice several types of writing in the classroom, not just formal essays. In the real world they will need to know how to write letters, complaints, thank you's, etc. Small activities like these could end up being extremely beneficial for them, instead of only knowing how to write formally.

I also feel that with English language learners especially, they should be given time to write and reflect on their own experiences. I think in this case, it should be allowed in either their L1 or L1. They can write about what they are having trouble with or how their experiences in their new culture are going. Giving them this personal writing time will not only give the teacher an inside to what they are thinking, but help them express their own feelings. From what they have written, we can then guide the lessons in the direction that we feel is necessary.

However a teacher chooses to incorporate writing in the classroom is really up to them. In my classroom the students will experience writing in a variety of genres and will get the chance to write for pleasure as well as for a purpose. Writing is a skill that the students will need to be good at to eventually use in the professional world. I want my students to feel comfortable when they are in a situation where they have to write. Giving the students multiple ways to practice will only prepare them for the future.